The Majority Report with Sam Seder

Episode 3565 – “Trumpflation Squeezes Parents; Populist Dem Runs in Maine”

Date: August 21, 2025
Host: Emma Vigeland (in for Sam Seder)
Guests: Elizabeth Pancotti (Groundwork Collaborative), Graham Platner (Democratic Senate Candidate, Maine)
Main Topics: The effects of Trump’s tariffs on the cost of living and school supplies, immigration scapegoating, and a populist campaign for U.S. Senate in Maine.

Overview

This episode tackles the economic pressures parents face during back-to-school season—dubbed “Trumpflation”—as tariffs sharply raise the price of school essentials. The show features Elizabeth Pancotti, who presents new data on these price hikes and explains the structural failings behind America’s cost of living crisis. Later, Emma interviews Graham Platner, a populist veteran and community organizer running for U.S. Senate in Maine, about how to restore working class power and address the failures of both parties. The episode’s tone is irreverent, analytic, and sharply critical of current right-wing narratives.

Key Discussion Points

1. Trump Administration Immigration Policy & Scapegoating

[00:07 – 17:55]

• Republican Narrative on Immigration:
  The show discusses a Laura Ingraham segment with Vice President J.D. Vance, highlighting the administration’s focus on blaming immigrants for societal problems, especially crime and housing costs.

  • Notable Quote:
    "Sanctuary cities are killing people because you allow these violent criminals to set up shop in your cities...it’s the entire point and purpose of the Democratic Party. If you go back to the election of 2024, what was the big issue? It was illegal immigration." – Vice President J.D. Vance (09:19)

• Emma’s Rebuttal & Facts about Immigration:
  Emma fact-checks claims, citing studies showing immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.

  • Notable Quote:
    "Immigrants are 60% less likely to be incarcerated than US born people...There is no data that backs up their racist claims." – Emma Vigeland (07:03)
  • Crime rates have been declining post-pandemic; no data links immigration to higher crime.

• Cynicism of Policy Proposals:
  The panel points out how the right uses immigrants as scapegoats while lacking real solutions for cost of living, housing, or declining wages.

  • Notable Quote:
    "They have no answer for the cost of living crisis except to demonize other people." – Emma Vigeland (10:57)
  • Discussion of housing affordability: Over half of all renters spend 30%+ of income on rent/utilities (Harvard study).

2. “Trumpflation”: Tariffs and Household Costs

[23:08 – 44:59]

Guest: Elizabeth Pancotti (Groundwork Collaborative)

• Groundwork/Century Foundation Analysis:
  Back-to-school supplies have seen an average price spike of 7.3% due to tariffs, more than double “headline” inflation.

  • Notable Quote:
    "School supplies are not really an optional expense for families...school supply list...is up 7.3%. But if you look at individual items, index cards are up by 40%." – Elizabeth Pancotti (23:58)

• Broader Cost Increases:

  • Not just school supplies: electronics, building materials, staple groceries, and clothes are all up.
  • Specific examples: Walmart and Target routinely forced to push through price hikes due to relentless tariffs. Certain staple items like crayons remain steady, but everything else is elevated.

• Supply Chains & Domestic Production Limits:

  • Even “Made in USA” goods (like certain pencils) depend on imported materials hit by tariffs.
    • "Number two pencils are made here, but the lumber that we largely import...is subject to tariffs." – Elizabeth Pancotti (27:24)
  • Replicating or onshoring production is a vast challenge—building one factory domestically depends on tariffs affecting steel, aluminum, machinery, and more.

• Tariff Policy & Industrial Strategy:

  • Biden used targeted, strategic tariffs to support domestic industry; Trump imposes broad, blunt tariffs, disrupting supply chains and stoking inflation without fostering real manufacturing growth.
    • “Nothing about this President’s approach to a domestic manufacturing renaissance is actually going to spur one. He is bullying companies and trying to control them.” – Elizabeth Pancotti (33:30)

• Holiday Season Outlook:

  • The price and availability of holiday essentials (costumes, toys, candy) are in jeopardy due to ongoing trade policy chaos.
    • “When Donald Trump told little girls...that you get one doll instead of five dolls, he meant it—because there will not be five dolls on the shelves this Christmas.” – Elizabeth Pancotti (43:33)

3. Interview: Graham Platner’s Populist Senate Run in Maine

[46:23 – 69:24]

• Who is Graham Platner?

  • A veteran (4 tours, Iraq/Afghanistan), oyster farmer, and community organizer with a history as a Majority Report listener.
  • Critically opposed to establishment politics—“I reject the term liberal” (Politico profile).
  • Seeks to reclaim working-class, movement-driven politics in Maine.

• On War & Foreign Policy:

  • "We never seemed to be living up to the things we were claiming to do…the wars were really about transferring taxpayer wealth to defense contractors." – Graham Platner (48:07)
  • Calls out continued American support for Israel’s actions in Gaza, framing them as genocidal and unrelated to U.S. interests.

• Democratic Party Failures in Maine:

  • Argues that past Senate races failed due to D.C. imposition of weak, uncompetitive candidates disconnected from local realities, referencing Sarah Gideon's 2020 defeat.

• Political Approach & Movement-Building Ideology:

  • Inspired by labor history, civil rights struggles, and organizers like Jane McAlevey.
    • Notable Quote:
      "American history is not a history of working people asking permission…Every good thing that we have gotten…does not come from writing a strongly worded letter…We need to build power." – Graham Platner (57:41)
  • Advocates for field operations, community organization, and building lasting political infrastructure.

• Key Platform Areas:

  • Healthcare: “Automatic yes vote for Medicare for All.” (61:34)
  • Housing: Supports public/social housing; wants structural reforms to keep corporate landlords from gaming solutions.
    • “We need to look at all these things very structurally...there are pitfalls in allowing corporate landlord companies to still exist.” (61:36)
  • Costs & Climate:
    • Recognizes rural health and housing crises.
    • As an oyster farmer, brings environmental focus, but ensures costs to fix climate change are not shouldered by workers but by the corporations and industries responsible.
      • “We need to look into these solutions in ways that are going to make…corporations that made the problems…foot the bill.” (64:04)
  • Refuses corporate donations; is running a small-dollar, grassroots campaign.

• Populist, Working-Class Frame:

  • “The only way we are going to survive the rise of fascism in America is to build robust working-class politics again.” (53:07)
  • Cites Bernie Sanders as a model for movement-building, not merely policy inspiration.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Emma on Immigration Scapegoating:
  "There is no data that backs up their racist claims. Even as Laura Ingraham comes up with an anecdote that she says is data." (07:03)

• Elizabeth Pancotti on Tariffs:
  "We were building things in America…and so quickly, with like strokes of a pen, Trump has completely reversed that." (36:02)

• Graham Platner on American Wars:
  “None of this stuff benefits working class Americans. Nothing in Sullivan, Maine, improved because of the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. Nothing in Sullivan, Maine, is going to improve because of our funding of a genocide.” (49:27)

• Platner on Movement Politics:
  "Power exists and can be taken and utilized by those who are willing to build the mechanisms necessary to do it…we need to build a much deeper structure of power through our political apparatus." (58:37)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:07]: Show introduction and main headlines
• [03:51] – [17:55]: Immigration, J.D. Vance on Laura Ingraham, debunking immigrant scapegoating
• [23:08] – [44:59]: Interview with Elizabeth Pancotti on Trump tariffs and “Trumpflation”
• [46:23] – [69:24]: Extended interview with Graham Platner on his Senate run, political philosophy, and agenda
• Post [69:24]: Hosts discuss the Platner interview, field audience responses, and chat about podcast developments

Final Thoughts

This episode offers a comprehensive critique of both economic and political dynamics under the Trump administration, focusing especially on how policy choices (like sweeping tariffs) directly injure working- and middle-class Americans. Scapegoating immigrants is exposed as a cynical distraction from elite-driven cost increases and lack of investment. The Platner interview provides a hopeful vision for political renewal via grassroots, working-class organizing, pushing beyond milquetoast liberalism.

Useful for listeners seeking:

• Grounded explanations of how tariffs actually work;
• Refutations of right-wing talking points about immigration and cost of living;
• Insights into the future of progressive populist organizing.